CHICAGO — Prosecutors say a Chicago man shot and nearly killed a good Samaritan who tried to de-escalate an argument he was having with a meter maid in a parking lot near Oakwood Beach.
The alleged victim, shot in the face, abdomen, arm, and side, has undergone four surgeries and remained hospitalized Friday as the accused man, William Hunter, 54, appeared in bond court on a charge of attempted first-degree murder.
The ticket writer was scoping out the parking lot at 3900 South Lake Shore Drive, planning the best route to take as she wrote tickets around 11:28 a.m. on July 8, prosecutor Victor Aberdeen said, according to a transcript of the court hearing.
Aberdeen said that upon seeing the woman, Hunter leaned out of his minivan and yelled, “What the f*ck are you doing?”
She ignored him, but he got out of his vehicle and walked up to her, yelling at her for writing tickets and calling her derogatory names, Aberdeen continued.
As that was happening, the 44-year-old victim drove into the lot and passed between Hunter and the revenue worker.
“He attempted to calm the defendant down and make a statement that the worker was just doing her job,” Aberdeen said.
The man got out of his car and continued to try to calm Hunter, but Hunter pushed him backward with two hands, according to Aberdeen. He said Hunter punched the victim in the face, and the two men began fighting.
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Hunter eventually stepped back, pulled a gun from his hoodie pocket, and shot the victim several times, Aberdeen continued. The revenue worker saw the shooting and ran for cover. She hid behind a car and remembered part of Hunter’s license plate as he fled. After calling 911, she helped the victim until an ambulance arrived.
Aberdeen said paramedics found a loaded 9-millimeter handgun in the back of the victim’s waistband, but the revenue worker told police that Hunter was the only person who pulled out a gun. Additionally, Aberdeen said, all of the shell casings at the scene were .380 caliber, not 9-millimeter.
The victim was hospitalized in critical condition and has had “at least four surgeries,” according to Aberdeen.
Chicago police detectives used the partial license plate information and vehicle description provided by the meter maid to identify Hunter’s minivan through license plate readers and CPD surveillance cameras. The revenue worker identified Hunter in a photo line-up earlier this month, and police arrested him on Wednesday.
Aberdeen said Hunter’s felony convictions include a 2015 DUI, a 2012 burglary, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in 2008.
He owns a heating and cooling business with two high school-aged children, said his defense attorney, Kevin Pechous.
Judge David Kelly repeatedly referred to the victim as a “good Samaritan” as he recapped the allegations against Hunter, ultimately ordering him held without bail.